There's an easy way to save the world

Deepak Chopra, spiritual guru to the stars, has a new goal: global peace. Its the way you sell it, he tells Cosmo Landesman

Mikhail Gorbachev called him “one of the most lucid and inspired philosophers of our time”. He has been praised by Bill Clinton, hugged by the Dalai Lama and appeared in Time magazine’s 100 heroes and icons of the century. But then celebrities have always been suckers for an Indian wise man who promises enlightenment.

In the 1960s Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of transcendental meditation, had the Beatles at his feet. But Deepak Chopra’s appeal spreads much wider. So much so that he is hardly a man now, more a lucrative new age brand — the David Beckham of personal/spiritual growth.

Over the past 15 years Chopra has written more than 35 books which, together with his 100 audio, video and CD-Rom titles, have sold more than 25m copies world wide. And it’s easy to see why. Chopra’s titles promise to reveal to people the “secrets” of everything: who they are, why